Many people are calling not just for reform of our political system, but for its complete overthrow. What will replace it?

Is something big changing in our politics? Everyone thinks that the 2011 general election was the big change. But the polls have been telling us for some time that the changes wrought on the Irish political landscape did not end then.

While the chunk of the electorate – nearly a quarter – that moved away from Fianna Fáil has certainly not come back, nor has it found a permanent home elsewhere. The big ...